The Michael Jackson biopic Michael has pulled forward of the Freddie Mercury biopic Bohemian Rhapsody because the top-grossing musician biopic of all time. As of Sunday (June 14), Michael has grossed $932.2 million. Bohemian Rhapsody has grossed $911 million.
Michael nonetheless has a methods to go to turn into the top-grossing biopic (not simply the top-grossing musician biopic) of all time: Oppenheimer, Christopher Nolan’s 2023 biopic of theoretical physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, who helped develop the primary nuclear weapons throughout World Conflict II, has grossed $975.8 million worldwide.
In response to Field Workplace Mojo figures, worldwide ticket gross sales account for 61.1% of Michael’s worldwide boxoffice whole thus far. (The rest is from the U.S. and Canada.) By means of comparability, worldwide ticket gross sales accounted for 76.2% of Bohemian Rhapsody’s worldwide boxoffice whole.
Jackson has a protracted historical past of rating No. 1 on lists, relationship again to The Jackson 5 touchdown their first No. 1 hit on the Billboard Sizzling 100 with “I Need You Again” in January 1970.
Jackson and Mercury have a lot in frequent. Each rose to fame in teams, The Jackson 5 and Queen, respectively. Each are broadly seen as two of the best showmen of all time. And each died years earlier than their time. Mercury died in 1991 at age 45 of issues from AIDS. Jackson died in 2009 at age 50 of cardiac arrest brought on by acute propofol intoxication.
The 2 superstars crossed paths within the early Nineteen Eighties, when Jackson attended Queen concert events in Los Angeles. They sometimes met for dinner and even recorded three demo tracks collectively that went unfinished.
One other frequent bond: There have been profitable theatrical productions primarily based on each artists’ music. The Queen musical, We Will Rock You, opened on London’s West Finish in 2002. MJ: The Musical has been a fixture on Broadway since Dec. 6, 2021.
Additionally: Graham King, who co-produced Michael with longtime Jackson associates John Branca and John McClain (who died on Might 26 at age 71), additionally co-produced Bohemian Rhapsody and a 3rd music biopic on Billboard’s listing of music biopics, Jersey Boys, the story of the 4 Seasons.
Right here is that listing – the highest-grossing biopics of musicians by way of worldwide field workplace. We didn’t embrace a couple of high-grossing movies about real-life music personalities as a result of the topics should not well-known music stars in their very own proper. These embrace The Sound of Music (which tells the story of Maria von Trapp and the Trapp Household Singers); Inexperienced Ebook (which offers with a highway journey taken by pianist and composer Don Shirley); Florence Foster Jenkins (about an heiress and hopelessly untalented soprano by that identify); and Music of the Coronary heart (about violinist and music educator Roberta Guaspari). Meryl Streep starred within the latter two movies.
Listed here are the 25 biopics of music stars with the best worldwide grosses.
Selena (1997)
Worldwide gross: $35.8 million
Director: Gregory Nava
Music: Dave Grusin
Notes: Rising star Jennifer Lopez starred as Tejano music star Selena, who rose from cult standing to performing on the Houston Astrodome. The movie consists of her stunning homicide at age 23 by the hands of former fan membership president Yolanda Saldívar. The soundtrack reached No. 7 on the Billboard 200.
Shine (1996)
Worldwide gross: $36 million
Director: Scott Hicks
Music: David Hirschfelder
Notes: Geoffrey Rush gained an Oscar for greatest actor for enjoying pianist David Helfgott, who suffered a psychological breakdown and spent years in establishments. The movie was nominated for seven Oscars, together with greatest image. The soundtrack reached No. 59 on the Billboard 200.
Humorous Girl (1975)
Worldwide gross: $39 million
Director: Herbert Ross
Music: John Kander, Fred Ebb, Peter Matz
Notes: This was the less-celebrated, however nonetheless fashionable, sequel to 1968’s Humorous Lady. Barbra Streisand reprised her Oscar-winning function as Fanny Brice and James Caan performed showman Billy Rose. The movie spawned an Oscar-nominated track, “How Fortunate Can You Get.” The movie soundtrack reached No. 6 on the Billboard 200.
What’s Love Acquired to Do With It (1993)
Worldwide gross: $39.1 million
Director: Brian Gibson
Music: Stanley Clarke
Notes: Angela Bassett acquired an Oscar nomination for greatest actress for enjoying the indomitable Tina Turner on this biopic. Laurence Fishburne acquired an Oscar nod for greatest actor for enjoying her abusive husband Ike Turner. The movie drew its title from Turner’s greatest hit, which topped the Billboard Sizzling 100 for 3 weeks in 1984 and gained Grammys for file and track of the yr. The movie soundtrack reached No. 17 on the Billboard 200 and spawned a high 10 hit on the Sizzling 100, “I Don’t Wanna Combat.”
Infamous (2009)
Worldwide gross: $44.4 million
Director: George Tillman Jr.
Music: Danny Elfman
Notes: Jamal Woolard starred as Christopher Wallace (a.okay.a. The Infamous B.I.G.) on this biopic. After rising to the highest of the rap music world, Biggie was shot to dying at age 24 in 1997. Angela Bassett, Derek Luke and Anthony Mackie additionally starred within the movie. The soundtrack reached No. 4 on the Billboard 200.
Springsteen: Ship Me from Nowhere (2025)
Worldwide gross: $45.2 million
Director: Scott Cooper
Music: Jeremiah Fraites
Notes: Jeremy Allen White, the Primetime Emmy-winning star of The Bear, stars as Bruce Springsteen on this movie which focuses on the interval following his industrial breakthrough The River, the place Springsteen felt compelled to make a low-key, acoustic album, Nebraska. The movie was written and directed by Scott Cooper and relies on the 2023 e book Ship Me from Nowhere by Warren Zanes, with some parts drawn from Springsteen’s 2016 autobiography Born to Run. The movie additionally stars Jeremy Sturdy, Paul Walter Hauser, Stephen Graham and Odessa Younger. The movie acquired blended opinions from critics, although the performances of White and Sturdy acquired reward. The music was supervised by Fraites, co-founder of The Lumineers and a songwriter for the band. Like The Boss, Fraites was born and raised in New Jersey.
Judy (2019)
Worldwide gross: $46 million
Director: Rupert Goold
Music: Gabriel Yared
Notes: Renée Zellweger gained an Oscar for greatest actress for enjoying Judy Garland on this movie. The irony: Garland by no means gained a aggressive Oscar, regardless of two nominations, one in the identical class by which Zellweger gained. Judy wasn’t an ordinary biopic, however a take a look at the final yr of her life, when she arrived in London within the winter of 1968 to carry out a sequence of sold-out concert events. Zellweger was nominated for a Grammy for the soundtrack, within the class of greatest conventional pop vocal album.
Humorous Lady (1968)
Worldwide gross: $52.2 million
Director: William Wyler
Music: Jule Styne, Bob Merrill
Notes: Barbra Streisand gained an Oscar for her movement image debut by which she performed Fanny Brice, a high star of the vaudeville period. “My Man” and “I’d Slightly Be Blue,” each featured in Humorous Lady, had been hits for Brice within the Nineteen Twenties. Streisand gained greatest actress in a tie (nonetheless the one one within the historical past of the class) with Katharine Hepburn, who gained for The Lion in Winter. “Hi there, beautiful,” Streisand started her speech, earlier than graciously including: “And I’m very honored to be in such magnificent firm as Katharine Hepburn.” Humorous Lady acquired eight nominations, together with greatest image and greatest unique track for “Humorous Lady.” The movie soundtrack reached No. 12 on the Billboard 200 and spent greater than two years on the chart.
Amadeus (1984)
Worldwide gross: $52.3 million
Director: Miloš Forman
Notes: Tom Hulce acquired an Oscar nomination for greatest actor for enjoying Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, however misplaced to F. Murray Abraham, who had the showier function as Antonio Salieri, who was insanely jealous of Mozart’s expertise. The movie acquired 11 Oscar nominations and gained eight awards, together with greatest image and greatest director for Miloš Forman. Peter Shaffer additionally gained greatest tailored screenplay for adapting his stage play, which had gained 5 Tony Awards in 1981. The double-disc soundtrack, credited to conductor/arranger Neville Marriner, reached No. 56 on the Billboard 200 and gained a Grammy for greatest classical album.
La Bamba (1987)
Worldwide gross: $54.2 million
Director: Luis Valdez
Music: Carlos Santana, Miles Goodman
Notes: Lou Diamond Phillips starred as Chicano music star Ritchie Valens who died at age 17 in the identical airplane crash that claimed the lives of Buddy Holly and The Massive Bopper. The movie is titled after a Mexican people track, which Valens fully reworked together with his rock and roll rendition in 1958. Valens’ model reached No. 22 on the Sizzling 100 in 1959. (It was not his greatest hit. That was “Donna,” which reached No. 2.) The movie soundtrack, credited to Los Lobos, topped the Billboard 200 for 2 weeks in 1987. Los Lobos’ zesty recording of “La Bamba” topped the Sizzling 100 for 3 weeks and acquired Grammy nominations for file and track of the yr.
All Eyez on Me (2017)
Worldwide gross: $55.7 million
Director: Benny Increase
Music: John Paesano
Notes: Demetrius Shipp Jr. starred as Tupac Shakur on this movie, with Jamal Woolard reprising his function as Christopher “The Infamous B.I.G.” Wallace from Infamous. Shipp’s father labored on music movies with 2Pac, who was shot to dying in 1996 at age 25. The movie drew its title from 2Pac’s 1996 double-disc album, his second to high the Billboard 200.
Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance With Any person (2022)
Worldwide gross: $59.8 million
Director: Kasi Lemmons
Music: Chanda Dancy
Notes: Naomi Ackie starred on this movie, which arrived 10 years after Houston’s stunning dying. Stanley Tucci co-starred as Clive Davis, who signed Houston to Arista Information in 1983 when she was simply 19. Davis oversaw her large rise however was unable to forestall her tragic fall. The movie is titled after Houston’s 1987 single that topped Billboard’s 2023 listing of The five hundred Greatest Pop Songs: Employees Listing.
Coal Miner’s Daughter (1980)
Worldwide gross: $67.2 million
Director: Michael Apted
Music: Owen Bradley
Notes: Sissy Spacek gained an Oscar for greatest actress for enjoying nation queen Loretta Lynn. The movie acquired seven Oscar nominations, together with greatest image. Tommy Lee Jones, Beverly D’Angelo and Levon Helm had supporting roles. Ernest Tubb, Roy Acuff, and Minnie Pearl made cameo appearances as themselves. The movie was primarily based on a 1976 biography of Lynn by George Vecsey additionally titled Coal Miner’s Daughter. Each the e book and the movie drew their titles from Lynn’s signature hit, which reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Sizzling Nation Singles chart (because it was referred to as then) in December 1970. The soundtrack reached No. 40 on the Billboard 200.
Jersey Boys (2014)
Worldwide gross: $67.6 million
Director: Clint Eastwood
Music: Bob Gaudio
Notes: Clint Eastwood directed and co-produced this movie adaptation of the blockbuster stage musical, which opened on Broadway in 2005. The biopic about The 4 Seasons starred John Lloyd Younger as Frankie Valli, Erich Bergen as Bob Gaudio, Michael Lomenda as Nick Massi and Vincent Piazza as Tommy DeVito. The movie didn’t get almost as a lot awards love because the stage musical did. The musical gained 4 Tony Awards together with greatest musical and greatest actor in a musical for Younger. The movie didn’t land a single Oscar nod. Valli and Gaudio served as government producers of the movie. The soundtrack reached No. 15 on the Billboard 200.
I Can Solely Think about (2018)
Worldwide gross: $86.1 million
Administrators: Andrew & Jon Erwin
Music: Brent McCorkle
Notes: Michael Finley starred as Bart Millard, the lead singer of the modern Christian band MercyMe. Millard wrote the title track about his relationship together with his father, performed by Dennis Quaid. The track reached No. 71 on the Sizzling 100 and charted for 18 weeks. On the 2018 Dove Awards, the movie, which additionally starred Hint Adkins and Cloris Leachman, gained inspirational movie of the yr.
A 2026 sequel, I Can Solely Think about 2, grossed $18.7 million worldwide.
La Vie En Rose (2019)
Worldwide gross: $87.5 million
Director: Olivier Dahan
Music: Christopher Gunning
Notes: Marion Cotillard gained an Oscar for her function because the French singer who recorded the 1947 traditional that gave the movie its title. The track reached No. 23 on Billboard’s pre-Sizzling 100 pop chart in 1950. (Piaf additionally had one Sizzling 100 entry, “Milord,” in 1961.) The literal translation of “La Vie En Rose” is “Life in Pink,” a figurative reference to rose-colored glasses.
Ray (2004)
Worldwide gross: $124 million
Director: Taylor Hackford
Music: Craig Armstrong
Notes: Jamie Foxx gained an Oscar for greatest actor for enjoying Ray Charles, the genre-bridging musician who lived as much as the label “genius,” which was typically bestowed on him. The movie acquired six Oscar nominations, together with greatest image. Taylor Hackford directed and co-produced the movie, and co-conceived the story. The soundtrack reached No. 9 on the Billboard 200 and gained a Grammy for greatest compilation soundtrack album for movement image, tv or different visible media.
A Full Unknown (2024)
Worldwide gross: $140.5 million
Director: James Mangold
Music: Nick Baxter, government music producer
Notes: Timothée Chalamet stars as Bob Dylan on this biopic, which follows Dylan from January 1961, when he moved from Minnesota to New York Metropolis, to his 1965 live performance on the Newport Folks Competition, which stirred controversy over using electrical devices. James Mangold, who directed the Johnny Money biopic Stroll the Line, additionally did the honors right here. The solid additionally consists of Edward Norton as Pete Seeger, Monica Barbaro as Joan Baez, Boyd Holbrook as Johnny Money and Scoot McNairy as Woody Guthrie, amongst others. The title is drawn from a key line in Dylan’s 1965 traditional “Like a Rolling Stone.”
Bob Marley: One Love (2024)
Worldwide gross: $181 million
Director: Reinaldo Marcus Inexperienced
Music: Kris Bowers
Notes: “First he modified music. Then he modified the world” was the tagline for this movie, which was directed and co-written by Reinaldo Marcus Inexperienced. It was primarily based on the lifetime of reggae legend Bob Marley, from his rise to fame within the mid-Nineteen Seventies up till his dying in 1981. The movie starred Kingsley Ben-Adir as Marley, with Lashana Lynch as his spouse Rita Marley and James Norton as Island Information founder Chris Blackwell.
Stroll the Line (2005)
Worldwide gross: $186.8 million
Director: James Mangold
Music: T Bone Burnett
Notes: Joaquin Phoenix acquired an Oscar nomination for greatest actor for enjoying nation legend Johnny Money, whereas Reese Witherspoon gained greatest actress for enjoying his spouse, nation star June Carter Money. The movie acquired 5 Oscar nominations. The screenplay, written by James Mangold (who additionally directed the movie) and Gill Dennis, was primarily based on two Money autobiographies — 1975’s Man in Black: His Personal Story in His Personal Phrases and 1997’s Money: The Autobiography. The movie drew its title from Money’s 1956 hit, “I Stroll the Line.” The soundtrack reached No. 9 on the Billboard 200 and gained a Grammy for greatest compilation soundtrack album for movement image, tv or different visible media.
Rocketman (2019)
Worldwide gross: $195.3 million
Director: Dexter Fletcher
Music: Matthew Margeson
Notes: Taron Egerton gained raves for his efficiency as Elton John, with Jamie Bell enjoying his collaborator, Bernie Taupin. However the actors had been handed over for Oscar nods, whereas the actual factor, Elton and Bernie, gained Oscars for greatest unique track for “(I’m Gonna) Love Me Once more.” The movie drew its title from John’s 1972 hit, which reached No. 6 on the Sizzling 100 – his highest rating to that time. (Many larger hits had been in his future.) The soundtrack reached No. 50 on the Billboard 200.
Straight Outta Compton (2015)
Worldwide gross: $201.6 million
Director: F. Gary Grey
Music: Joseph Trapanese
Notes: Ice Dice was performed by his real-life son, O’Shea Jackson Jr., on this N.W.A biopic, which additionally starred Corey Hawkins as Dr. Dre, Jason Mitchell as Eazy-E, Neil Brown Jr. as DJ Yella and Aldis Hodge as MC Ren. Paul Giamatti was featured as N.W.A’s supervisor Jerry Heller. The members of N.W.A had been concerned within the manufacturing of the movie, together with Ice Dice and Dr. Dre as producers. Eazy-E’s widow, Tomica Woods-Wright, was additionally a producer, whereas MC Ren and DJ Yella served as artistic consultants. The movie drew its title from N.W.A’s debut album, which reached a brand new peak on the Billboard 200 (No. 4) following the movie’s launch. The album had initially peaked at No. 37 in 1989. On Aug. 7, 2015, one week earlier than the movie’s launch, Dr. Dre launched Compton: A Soundtrack by Dr. Dre. Although not an official soundtrack, Dre stated the album was “impressed by the film.” It debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200.
Elvis (2022)
Worldwide gross: $288.7 million
Director: Baz Luhrmann
Music: Elliott Wheeler
Notes: Elvis was Baz Luhrmann’s biopic of Elvis Presley, from his childhood to changing into one of many biggest pop music stars of all time. The movie additionally explored his complicated relationship together with his supervisor, Colonel Tom Parker, performed by Tom Hanks. Along with directing the movie, Luhrmann co-wrote and co-produced it. This was Luhrmann’s sixth movie, following Strictly Ballroom (1992), Romeo + Juliet (1996), Moulin Rouge! (2001), Australia (2008) and The Nice Gatsby (2013). The soundtrack, attributed to Elvis Presley and Varied Artists, reached No. 26 on the Billboard 200.
Bohemian Rhapsody (2018)
Worldwide gross: $911 million
Director: Brian Singer
Music: Queen
Notes: Rami Malek gained an Oscar for greatest actor for enjoying Queen’s charismatic lead singer Freddie Mercury. The movie additionally starred Gwilym Lee as guitarist Brian Might, Ben Hardy as drummer Roger Taylor and Joe Mazzello as bassist John Deacon. Might and Taylor served as consultants on the movie, which centered on the interval from the band’s formation in 1970 to their triumphant efficiency at Stay Help in Wembley Stadium in 1985. The movie acquired 5 Oscar nominations, together with greatest image, and gained 4 awards, greater than every other movie that yr. The movie drew its title from Queen’s most well-known track, which reached No. 9 on the Sizzling 100 in 1976 and No. 2 in 1992 after it was featured within the box-office smash “Wayne’s World.” The Bohemian Rhapsody soundtrack reached No. 2 on the Billboard 200.
Michael (2026)
Worldwide gross: $932.2 million (thus far)
Director: Antoine Fuqua
Music: Lior Rosner
Notes: Michael focuses on a two-decade interval, from 1966 to 1988, when Jackson rose from a gifted pre-teen in Gary, Indiana, to the most important pop star on the planet. Jackson is portrayed as a toddler by Juliano Krue Valdi and as an grownup by his nephew Jaafar Jackson (Jermaine Jackson’s son) — each of their movie appearing debuts. The supporting solid consists of Nia Lengthy, Laura Harrier, Miles Teller and two-time Oscar nominee Colman Domingo. The movie has acquired blended to detrimental opinions; critics praised Jaafar Jackson’s efficiency however discovered the storytelling to be sanitized. Fuqua directed Denzel Washington to an Oscar in Coaching Day. Fuqua’s different credit embrace three installments of The Equalizer, which additionally starred Washington.
